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Each and Her
In 2004 twenty-eight women and young girls were murdered in Ciudad Juárez and the surrounding areas. The tragedy escalated to fifty-eight murders in 2006, then again to eighty-six in 2008, and current estimates top four hundred deaths. Now poet Valerie Martínez offers a poetic exploration of these events, pushing boundaries—stylistically and artistically—with vivid poems that contextualize femicide.
Martínez departs from traditional narrative to reveal the hidden effects and outcomes of the horrific and heart-wrenching cases of femicide. These poems—lyric fragments and prose passages that form a collage—have an intricate relation to one another, creating a complex literary quilt that feels like it can be read from the beginning, the end, or anywhere in between. Martínez is personally invested in the topic, evoking the loss of her sister, and Each and Her emerges as a biography of sorts and a compelling homage to all those who have suffered. Other authors may elaborate on or investigate this topic, but Martínez humanizes it by including names, quotations, realistic details, and stark imagery.
The women of Juárez, like other women around the world, are ravaged by inequality, discontinuity, politics, and economic plagues that contribute to gender violence. Martínez offers us a poignant and alarming glance into another world with these never-before-told stories. Her refreshing and explosive voice will keep readers transfixed and intrigued about these events and emotions—removed from us and yet so close to the heart.
Martínez departs from traditional narrative to reveal the hidden effects and outcomes of the horrific and heart-wrenching cases of femicide. These poems—lyric fragments and prose passages that form a collage—have an intricate relation to one another, creating a complex literary quilt that feels like it can be read from the beginning, the end, or anywhere in between. Martínez is personally invested in the topic, evoking the loss of her sister, and Each and Her emerges as a biography of sorts and a compelling homage to all those who have suffered. Other authors may elaborate on or investigate this topic, but Martínez humanizes it by including names, quotations, realistic details, and stark imagery.
The women of Juárez, like other women around the world, are ravaged by inequality, discontinuity, politics, and economic plagues that contribute to gender violence. Martínez offers us a poignant and alarming glance into another world with these never-before-told stories. Her refreshing and explosive voice will keep readers transfixed and intrigued about these events and emotions—removed from us and yet so close to the heart.
96 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2010
About the author
Valerie Martinez
26 books7 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
(1)poet, teacher, translator, playwright, librettist, collaborative artist
(1)poet, teacher, translator, playwright, librettist, collaborative artist
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 24, 2021
'spills from his tilma
Castilian roses
says
through me
thorn and red petal
believe this'
—30
Castilian roses
says
through me
thorn and red petal
believe this'
—30
November 16, 2011
Valerie Martinez’s, "Each and Her". Arizona: Arizona Press, 2010.
Valerie Martinez introduces a whole new style of poetry in her publication "Each and Her".
Like a garden gnomes, Martinez’s works are intense and eerie. She does more than just express her feelings on paper; she fights for a cause. By telling the story of hundreds of women who were brutally murdered in Juarez, Mexico, Martinez takes one step closer to ending this horrible massacre. She speaks for those who cannot speak anymore. Many victims have not even been identified; she writes to give them a voice so that their stories can still be told.
Each and Her is a book that consists solely of poems. The poems vary in length and structure. Some consist of historic facts and others of figurative language; both pay homage to the lives of these women. Every page is arranged differently. The changing of pace keeps the reader intrigued and also mirrors the mixture of emotions one will experience while reading the piece; some parts are long and upsetting, others are terse and shocking.
By reading these poems, one gains the knowledge that hundreds of murders have occurred in Juarez, Mexico since 1993. Men in the Mexican Drug Cartel supposedly perform these murders as rituals. The murders are brutal and there is evidence of torture and rape. These men do not target specific ages, the victims range from children to elderly women. The murders are ongoing; there has been little effort to stop them. With these harrowing details, Martinez makes the world aware of what is happening.
Although the poems are mainly centered on the murders in Juarez, Martinez also incorporates many other aspects of the city such as: her memories of visiting as a young girl, the lives of maquilladoras, and photographs and illustrations that heighten the intensity of each piece.
When writing about the lives of maquilladoras or working women, Martinez uses a unique approach by creating a list. The list comprises of the women’s “daily wage”, “weekly salary”, “deduction for union dues”, “net weekly pay”, and “rent”. At the bottom of the page she adds, “amount left over per week for food, clothes, shoes, and medical attention-$2.03”.
These facts present an overwhelming amount of emotional appeal. Martinez structures this list in two separate stanzas. The visual and chronological layout further impact the reader. Every detail of her writing is meant to evoke emotion; every word has been chosen to form a deeper meaning. She shows her audience how the murders are effecting everyone in the community, not just the victims and their families.
Martinez has the unique ability to take a grim and depressing topic and turn it into literary eloquence. Her language is beautiful and flows like a sonnet or rare song. All of her works from the long and winded paragraphs, to the short and fragmented stanzas are grippingly lovely.
Reading these poems has already greatly enhanced my free verse; all aspects of my poetry have evolved. Martinez is truly an inspiration; she has a rare and genuine talent. I would strongly suggest reading this book.
Valerie Martinez introduces a whole new style of poetry in her publication "Each and Her".
Like a garden gnomes, Martinez’s works are intense and eerie. She does more than just express her feelings on paper; she fights for a cause. By telling the story of hundreds of women who were brutally murdered in Juarez, Mexico, Martinez takes one step closer to ending this horrible massacre. She speaks for those who cannot speak anymore. Many victims have not even been identified; she writes to give them a voice so that their stories can still be told.
Each and Her is a book that consists solely of poems. The poems vary in length and structure. Some consist of historic facts and others of figurative language; both pay homage to the lives of these women. Every page is arranged differently. The changing of pace keeps the reader intrigued and also mirrors the mixture of emotions one will experience while reading the piece; some parts are long and upsetting, others are terse and shocking.
By reading these poems, one gains the knowledge that hundreds of murders have occurred in Juarez, Mexico since 1993. Men in the Mexican Drug Cartel supposedly perform these murders as rituals. The murders are brutal and there is evidence of torture and rape. These men do not target specific ages, the victims range from children to elderly women. The murders are ongoing; there has been little effort to stop them. With these harrowing details, Martinez makes the world aware of what is happening.
Although the poems are mainly centered on the murders in Juarez, Martinez also incorporates many other aspects of the city such as: her memories of visiting as a young girl, the lives of maquilladoras, and photographs and illustrations that heighten the intensity of each piece.
When writing about the lives of maquilladoras or working women, Martinez uses a unique approach by creating a list. The list comprises of the women’s “daily wage”, “weekly salary”, “deduction for union dues”, “net weekly pay”, and “rent”. At the bottom of the page she adds, “amount left over per week for food, clothes, shoes, and medical attention-$2.03”.
These facts present an overwhelming amount of emotional appeal. Martinez structures this list in two separate stanzas. The visual and chronological layout further impact the reader. Every detail of her writing is meant to evoke emotion; every word has been chosen to form a deeper meaning. She shows her audience how the murders are effecting everyone in the community, not just the victims and their families.
Martinez has the unique ability to take a grim and depressing topic and turn it into literary eloquence. Her language is beautiful and flows like a sonnet or rare song. All of her works from the long and winded paragraphs, to the short and fragmented stanzas are grippingly lovely.
Reading these poems has already greatly enhanced my free verse; all aspects of my poetry have evolved. Martinez is truly an inspiration; she has a rare and genuine talent. I would strongly suggest reading this book.
November 17, 2010
The murders of women from Juarez has haunted me since I learned about it, since El Paso is where I was born and raised. It is so horrifying to know that the murders have been speculated to have begun in the early 1990s and to this date continued there really has been no progress in identifying who the killers are - and if there are more than one, or if there are copycats. I have to question - is it because of their economic status, their gender, their race that they continue to be victims?
"Maquiladoras can be 100 percent foreign, enjoying exemption from Foreign Investment Law. On average, companies save as much as 75 percent on labor costs by operating in Mexico" (14).
"Juarez is also home to perhaps the largest drug-trafficking cartel in the world, supplying the largest drug-consuming nation in the world - the United States" (14)
"a typical maqui work schedule
60 hours per week
typical daily wage - $8.29
weekly salary - $49.74
deduction for union dues - 4%
net-weekly pay - $47.74
typical shared rent or contribution
to family income - $45. 71
amount left over per week
for food clothes shoes
and medical attention - $2.03
"Maquiladoras can be 100 percent foreign, enjoying exemption from Foreign Investment Law. On average, companies save as much as 75 percent on labor costs by operating in Mexico" (14).
"Juarez is also home to perhaps the largest drug-trafficking cartel in the world, supplying the largest drug-consuming nation in the world - the United States" (14)
"a typical maqui work schedule
60 hours per week
typical daily wage - $8.29
weekly salary - $49.74
deduction for union dues - 4%
net-weekly pay - $47.74
typical shared rent or contribution
to family income - $45. 71
amount left over per week
for food clothes shoes
and medical attention - $2.03
February 14, 2012
How can such simple verses say so much?
November 16, 2020
This is powerful poetry at its best.
I personally relate to shorter poetry, and Martínez is excellent at using the smallest of phrases to convey so much. Not only was this informative and heartbreaking, it was also lyrical and managed to hold the tiniest ray of hope in its red hands.
I personally relate to shorter poetry, and Martínez is excellent at using the smallest of phrases to convey so much. Not only was this informative and heartbreaking, it was also lyrical and managed to hold the tiniest ray of hope in its red hands.
June 17, 2020
I have no words.
October 26, 2023
4.5 round to 5
October 29, 2023
Wow.
Heartbreaking and deeply personal, I will be raving and recommending this to everyone for years to come.
Heartbreaking and deeply personal, I will be raving and recommending this to everyone for years to come.
February 23, 2025
beautiful and deeply saddening poetry collection. stunningly written.
Read
November 19, 2011Since the beginning of the Juárez murders in 1993, over 450 women and young girls have been murdered in the Mexican state of Chihuahua near the United States border. Many young women migrate to the Mexican border to cities like Juárez in hopes of bettering their education and finding work. However, many of these women do not return home. Many of them who are murdered are students, but most of them work in the maquiladoras, or factories. Despite more then fifty arrest, the number of murders continues to grow (Martínez Introduction). Poet Valerie Martínez laments the struggles and experiences these women and their families face while enduring the town of Juárez, Chihuahua. Martínez writes with a somber tone as if every word is intended for a specific woman who suffered or passed.
“Each and Her” has a unique form, for each page of the book is numbered with a preceding verse that varies from just a few words to a biblical verse on Adam and Eve. Martínez’s poem includes several resources that she came across during her time researching the Juárez murders. She includes excerpts and information from Maquiladora Management Services, the history of roses, and works from other writers on the Juárez murders. One reading “Each and Her” can tell that her finished work chronicles her journey into understanding the murders of hundreds of women for no consistent reason. Each numbered page is a moment in time, feeling, or memory that Martínez is attempting to describe in poetic form. Martínez even writes some lines in Spanish to mirror the complexity of the issue at hand.
Her most poignant technique is when Martínez writes one word, “sígame,” which is a Spanish command that means “follow me,” (Martínez 50). Her use of this lone word on the page hits the reader with such impact because it forces one to stop and pause for a moment to reflect. Martínez wants to put the reader in these women’s shoes so we can feel the fear that they once felt. She does this again towards the end of the poem by adding “you step into a moving car/ concussion broken collarbone / lacerated liver right leg/ shattered in three places / I hold to the railings of the bed / knuckles blue white / willing my legs / to stay solid,” (Martínez 54). She writes these lines as if they were images in her head that she could only see, yet she finds the words that describe these images perfectly.
Valerie Martínez writes about these hundreds of murders by not dwelling on the killings themselves, but rather the women and people they were before their time ended abruptly. She tries to see the world as these Mexican women did living in this place of terror called Juárez. In her dedication, Martínez quotes Adrienne Rich; “Nothing less than the most radical imagination will carry us beyond this point.” One cannot help but assume that is a thought that crosses the women of Juárez minds each day.
“Each and Her” has a unique form, for each page of the book is numbered with a preceding verse that varies from just a few words to a biblical verse on Adam and Eve. Martínez’s poem includes several resources that she came across during her time researching the Juárez murders. She includes excerpts and information from Maquiladora Management Services, the history of roses, and works from other writers on the Juárez murders. One reading “Each and Her” can tell that her finished work chronicles her journey into understanding the murders of hundreds of women for no consistent reason. Each numbered page is a moment in time, feeling, or memory that Martínez is attempting to describe in poetic form. Martínez even writes some lines in Spanish to mirror the complexity of the issue at hand.
Her most poignant technique is when Martínez writes one word, “sígame,” which is a Spanish command that means “follow me,” (Martínez 50). Her use of this lone word on the page hits the reader with such impact because it forces one to stop and pause for a moment to reflect. Martínez wants to put the reader in these women’s shoes so we can feel the fear that they once felt. She does this again towards the end of the poem by adding “you step into a moving car/ concussion broken collarbone / lacerated liver right leg/ shattered in three places / I hold to the railings of the bed / knuckles blue white / willing my legs / to stay solid,” (Martínez 54). She writes these lines as if they were images in her head that she could only see, yet she finds the words that describe these images perfectly.
Valerie Martínez writes about these hundreds of murders by not dwelling on the killings themselves, but rather the women and people they were before their time ended abruptly. She tries to see the world as these Mexican women did living in this place of terror called Juárez. In her dedication, Martínez quotes Adrienne Rich; “Nothing less than the most radical imagination will carry us beyond this point.” One cannot help but assume that is a thought that crosses the women of Juárez minds each day.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews